This hour of Radiolab: is death a disease that can be cured?
We filter the modern search for the fountain of youth through personal stories of witnessing death--the death of a cell, the death of a loved one...and the aging of a society.
Until Leonard Hayflick came along, everyone thought cells were immortal. That they’d divide over and over again, forever. Hayflick torpedoes that theory and proved that there is limit. A very predictable limit: a magic number. To thank him, science textbooks everywhere now refer to that as ‘the Hayflick limit.’
Dr. Cynthia Kenyon looks at the genes of tiny worms, and discovers that aging may be a battle between good and evil. A literal struggle between two genes (who she calls): The Grim Reaper gene vs. The Fountain of Youth gene. And by fixing the match, she and her team ...
How do we deal with dying? Most of us look away. But in the case of the Zagar family, they look closer. A father and son have a contest to take the best pictures of their dying grandpa, and the result is an up-close portrait of death. This piece was ...
Comments [6]
Wow, I'm in love with daf-16... It was a really interesting show, and it was great even before hearing about the Fountain of Youth gene. But seriously, daf-16 made my day :)
Lordy, can I just say how much I LOVE DAF-16? Such a great casting decision! :)
Great episode, but horrifying, annoying and LOUD screams, squeals! Don't listen at work unless you want your co-workers to come running in.
Squirrels only live up to about 6 years? I could not find a 25 year old squirrel.
I know this is an old episode, but something in the 'mortality' episode bothered me so much, I just have to post. When discussing the again 'problem' in Japan, you seemed to imply they living longer would mean more elderly to take care of completely overlooking Dr. Cynthia Kenyon saying that her genetic work not only allowed for worms to live longer, but we'are also very healthy and active. IF a drug that lets us live 6 times longer also makes be as health as a 20 year old, then we won't need to be taken care of. To me, the interesting story would have been about those social changes.
About 6 months ago I was introduced to Radiolab at a place I consider my true home called Nature Camp. Occasionally the councilors let us listen to music or would read us some dirty story before we went to sleep. One night they played the very first episode of Radiolab that I ever heard. I was completely fascinated by this episode that I later learned was called Sleep. Months after I got home my girlfriend began to have terrifying nightmares that all had something in common, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. So I remembered the segment of the episode that focused on dreams. I looked it up and listened to it once more. I took notes during the segment and at one point I figured it out. I called my girlfriend to ask her a few questions that pertained to her dreams. Long story short, thanks to Radiolab I was able to "diagnose" her dreams and why she'd been having them. Ever since then I've been listening to Radiolab on a regular basis. For years I had been thinking about random subjects and having a mental debate almost like what this show does. I am thrilled to find out that I am not the only one who thinks in the way that I do.
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